“I truly believe that 80 percent of the people are tickled to death, and they are getting mad” about the criticism, Lenoir Mayor David Barlow said…”Where’s all the good talk of the millions and millions of dollars in payroll? Our people need to hear the good news,” he said.

And just because we keep hearing the $260m number, doesn’t mean that Lenoir will be worse off for having Google as a neighbor.

Lenoir City Manager Lane Bailey said people need to be reminded that even with local tax breaks, Google will be paying more taxes than other companies and will support the local economy. “This is a great deal for the city,” Bailey said.